LANSING — Despite hearing overwhelming opposition to bills that would prohibit communities from enacting ordinances that would identify the town as a sanctuary city unwilling to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, Republicans in the House Local Government committee approved moving the legislation to the full House of Representatives.

Over two days of hearings, the committee heard from immigrant activists and city and law enforcement officials all opposed to the legislation.

“I oppose these measure because they’re at odds with core American values and threaten public safety for both citizen and immigrant alike,” said Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor. “Please don’t make Michigan a 'show me your papers' state. That only communicates fear and weakness.”

Washtenaw County Sheriff Jerry Clayton added that the bill would discourage immigrants from cooperating with police when they investigate crime.

“Most of the police service leaders recognize that fighting crime occurs with strong and trusting relationships with community members, who work as witnesses and help develop solutions to neighborhood problems,” he said. “The trust and strong relationships that I speak of is often a very fragile thing.”

And while the Michigan Catholic Conference is neutral on the bills, the organization's policy director Paul Stankewitz said, "We have some serious concerns. The U.S. Department of Justice would be appropriate entity to deal with this, not the state Legislature. The headline after today will be 'The Legislature passes anti-immigrant measure.' This sends a message that Michigan is no longer a welcoming state for immigrants."

But state Rep. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake, said such talk was “preposterous” and a hyperbolic reaction to the proposed policy.

“I don’t know where you come up with ‘show me’ state. No police is allowed to walk up to a person and say show me your papers,” he said. “We are a nation of immigrants, but a nation of legal immigrants. Hyperbolic language is not helpful. We’re only talking about holding individuals who have broken the law.”

The bills would:

Prohibit cities, townships, villages and counties from enacting laws that limit coordination and cooperation between federal officials and any municipal employee.

Empower a community’s residents to file a complaint in court or with the State Attorney General’s office to make sure the town follows the state law.

Allow the court to assess a civil fine between $2,500 to $7,500 against a local official who knowingly violated the law.

While some Michigan cities have policies that direct police to not inquire about the immigration status of people they stop, only Lansing briefly passed an ordinance in April declaring itself a sanctuary city, but rescinded that ordinance the next week.

Chris Hackbarth, director of state affairs for the Michigan Municipal League, said only three cities – Ann Arbor, Detroit and Lansing – have “welcoming city” policies and the federal government has never expressed any concern over those policies.

The bills – HB 4105 and 4334 – passed on straight party line votes with Republicans supporting and Democrats opposing. They now move to the full House of Representatives for consideration.